Taunton resident Bime Cruz cooking up surprises on FOX’s MasterChef’

Taunton resident Bime Cruz has a chance in the MasterChef spotlight in tonight’s episode as a team captain. And for all the Bime fans watching and rooting for him from his hometown area he said, “It’s going to be an exciting night. I think people will be talking about it for a long time.”

Taunton resident Bime Cruz has a chance in the MasterChef spotlight in tonight’s episode as a team captain. And for all the Bime fans watching and rooting for him from his hometown area he said, “It’s going to be an exciting night. I think people will be talking about it for a long time.”

Speaking on Tuesday from Taunton now that the filming of the MasterChef Season 4 is over, Cruz couldn’t give out specific details of what he’d be up against on Wednesday night’s MasterChef, but he did add, “Expect some fireworks — nothing goes as planned. I’m excited for the show coming up and for me to be excited means everyone should be excited.”

Selected as one of the 20 contestants on the show that pits home chefs against each other under the scrutiny of chefs Gordon Ramsay and Graham Elliot, and restaurateur Joe Bastianich, Cruz was featured commenting several times in last week’s back-to-back episodes. An assortment of chocolate cupcakes also landed him as one of two team captains for this week’s episode. “It’s really exciting. As a team captain you get an opportunity to shine for the judges,” he said.

As for as having a favorite among the judges, Cruz said each one of the them presented something different. Ramsay, he said, “was so passionate” and a great teacher. Graham was more “philosophical when it come to food.’ And Bastianich, “knows what’s good and what’s not. And he’s not going to take any half steps.”

“All three of them bring something that makes you elevate yourself as a chef,” he said.

Cruz, who is back home and working in the health care field with physical therapy patients and as a boxing trainer, is getting a first glimpse at the episodes airing on the Fox network watching them alongside his three daughters: Adiana, 10, Amaya, 8 and Ariel, 6. “When they saw me in the very first episode my kids started crying and hugging me,” he said.

His parents, Jose and Miriam Cruz emigrated from Puerto Rico to Boston and Taunton where he attended school from first grade through high school. Cruz, who would have graduated with the Class of 1995, said he dropped out of school but he went back to get his GED in 2009, for his daughters. Now, he said, he’s happy his parents are watching along and rooting for him. “They’re very excited. Before, I wasn’t the most model citizen. To see where I am today makes them happy,” said Cruz.

He’s also grateful for the support and encouragement he’s received from back home from people who are watching the show to see how the longtime Taunton resident is progressing. “This is my home, and I love this city and everything about it. Feeling the support from them has been overwhelming. Making them proud is making me proud,” he said.

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Though whether or not Cruz will have bragging rights to the MasterChef Season 4 title and $250,000 winnings remains to be seen, he said the experience changed him as a cook and someday he’d like to open his own restaurant.

“MasterChef opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at the culinary world. I thought I was a good cook before, but the experience gave me the possibility to be great,” said Cruz of the grueling competition that immersed him in cooking techniques and different styles of cooking and cuisine. “That’s something the show gave me; I wake up every night thinking up recipes.”